Britain probes new claims of abuse by troops in Iraq

By Stefano Ambrogi

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's defense ministry said Saturday it was investigating fresh complaints that its troops had abused prisoners in Iraq.

News of the probe came after the Independent newspaper reported that Phil Shiner, a lawyer acting for detainees, had catalogued 33 new cases of abuse since the 2003 invasion, including rape and torture.

The paper reported that, for the first time, female soldiers were accused of aiding in the sexual and physical abuse of detainees.

Armed forces minister Bill Rammell said in a statement that the claims were being taken seriously, but that formal investigations needed to take place "without judgments being made prematurely."

He told the BBC that not all the cases were new and "that about seven have come in within the last month."

In one case, soldiers are accused of piling Iraqi prisoners on top of each other and subjecting them to electric shocks, the Independent reported.

The paper compared it to the abuse at the notorious U.S. detention center at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison.

One abuse claim relates to a 16-year-old boy who says he was raped by two British soldiers while he was in custody in 2003. Others say they were stripped naked, abused and photographed.